Dementia is leading mental problem. But do you know there are different types of dementia?
Dementia can be defined as a group of symptoms that affect thinking and memory. It also affects social abilities which will affect your daily life.
We cannot consider it a disease, but many diseases can cause dementia.
It involves memory loss generally, but memory loss has different causes also.
If you have memory loss, then it doesn’t mean that you have dementia. But it is one of its symptoms.
Go through this blog to know about the types of dementia and symptoms.
Types of Dementia
Here are the types of dementia:
1. Vascular Dementia
This type of dementia is caused when the vessels which supply blood to your brain get damaged. It can cause strokes or can affect the brain in other ways such as damaging the fibers in the brain.
The most common symptoms of this type of Dementia are loss of focus and organization, facing difficulties while problem-solving, slowed thinking which can be more easily noticed than having memory loss
2. Lewy Body Dementia
People who are suffering from Lewy body dementia generally have abnormal balloon-like clumps of protein inside their brains.
Nowadays one of the more communal types of dementia is Lewy body dementia.
Some early symptoms of Lewy body dementia are seeing such things that aren’t there, acting like someone in the dream while sleeping, and some other signs like slow movement, tremors, etc.
This is the most common type of dementia.
3. Frontotemporal Dementia
Frontotemporal can be considered a group of diseases. It is caused by broken nerve cells and their connection to the lobes of the brain.
The frontal and temporal lobes of the brain are the areas that deal with behavior, personality, and language.
This could be the worst type of dementia. Common symptoms of this type of dementia can affect thinking, personality, behavior, judgment, language, and movement.
4. Mixed Dementia
This type of dementia has been considered in people who have a combination of some causes. The causes are vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Lewy body dementia.
As it is a newly discovered type of dementia. Studies are going on to determine its effect, symptoms, and treatments.
Some diseases are the most common cause of dementia-like Alzheimer’s disease. For treating dementia in the right way, we should have known the causes.
Causes of Dementia
Dementia is generally the result of damage of nerve cells to their connections in the brain. It depends on the area of the brain that takes the hit.
It can affect people differently and cause different symptoms.
Even they grouped by what they have in common. What they have in common is protein deposited in the brain that is affected.
Some diseases caused by a reaction to medications or vitamin deficiencies look like dementias.
The most common causes of dementia include:
1. Alzheimer’s Disease
It is a disease in which patients have plaques and tangles in their brains. These plaques are clumps of a protein called beta-amyloid.
Tau protein is the main component of these fibrous tangles. These clumps damage healthy neurons and fibers connecting to them.
2. Huntington’s Disease
Genetic mutation is among the main causes of this disease. It causes certain nerve cells in your brain and spinal cord to waste away. The signs and symptoms of this disease include a severe decline in thinking skills. It usually appears around age 30.
3. Parkinson’s Disease
It is a disease that affects movement through nervous system disorder. Sometimes people barely notice it in the early stages, but it gets worsen over time. This disease can be one of the causes of Lewy body dementia.
As we see these are some common causes of dementia. There are several other causes also. Depending on the causes, some dementia symptoms are reversible while some are not. Let’s know the symptoms of dementia.
Symptoms of Dementia
Symptoms of dementia vary upon its cause, but the following are some common signs and symptoms:
Some cognitive changes are like:
- Having difficulty in doing reasoning or problem-solving
- Confusions and frequent mental disorientations
- Facing difficulty in handling complex tasks
- Difficulty with spatial and visual abilities; e.g. you may forget your way while driving
- Sudden memory loss, which anyone can easily notice
Some psychological changes are like:
- Anxiety
- Agitation
- Depression
- Personality changes
- Inappropriate behaviour
Now we know enough about dementia to conclude the discussion.
Conclusion
In this blog, we have discussed the types of dementia. Through which we got to know the symptoms and causes of dementia.
You can reduce its risk through proper diet and exercise, control of diabetes and BP, quitting smoking and alcohol, a pollution-free environment, and good sleep.
Dementia may affect many body systems that can function. It can lead to pneumonia, poor nutrition, personal safety challenges, or death. Sometimes, it increases the inability to perform self-care tasks.
Just keep your mind active, get enough vitamins, physical activeness, treat health conditions properly, and take precautions.
